September 30, 2012

The deadline for submissions to the 4th edition of Clover, A Literary Rag, is TODAY, September 30, 2012. Although the deadline is not posted (at least in any readily-obvious way) on the Independent Writers’ Studio (IWS) Facebook page or website, IWS director, Mary Gillilan, says today’s the day and please submit your finest, starting at the submissions page.

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September 30, 2012

Anyone who submits poems gets rejections. But if ALL you get is rejections, or if you’re getting just too darn many of them, perhaps it’s time to ask “Why?” Thanks to Harriet, the blog of The Poetry Foundation, for alerting us to this helpful article from the Indiana Review, “Five Marks of Oft-Rejected Poems.”

Have a look…and then re-read some of your recently-rejected poems. Time to rewrite?

September 28, 2012

In addition to being a prolific poet, a founder/prime mover of Whatcom Poetry Series and The Poet As Art, Jim was a member of the founding board of the Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest and has served as emcee for the awards ceremony for many years since. Local rumors suggest that Wednesday’s reading will be particularly upbeat, as Mr. Bertolino will launch the celebration of a milestone birthday, which happens to happen the following day, October 4.

The reading will be held at 7:00pm in the Readings Gallery (downstairs) at Village Books in Bellingham. Don’t miss it!

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September 27, 2012

Banned Books Week, observing its 30-year anniversary September 30 through October 6, 2012, highlights the benefits of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. More than 11,300 books have been challenged since 1982.

How will you participate?

Village Books, in Bellingham, will host a Banned Books Week Read-Out on Sunday, September 30, 2 to 4pm. In addition to the store’s annual, much-commented-upon banned books display, community members will read a banned text or talk about a book banning event. Village Books will record and post videos of each person as part of the nationwide Virtual Read-Out.

The Whatcom County Library Foundation invites the public to an open house to “Celebrate the Freedom to Read” on Saturday, October 6, 2 to 4pm at the Ferndale Public Library.

September 26, 2012

Sometimes it takes a while for news to reach us here in the upper left-hand corner. But it’s with no less enthusiasm that we share this bit of April 2012 news about Sierra Golden, a 2010 Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest Merit Award winner for her poem, What I really like about making bread.

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September 25, 2012

As a follow-up to yesterday’s post on the upcoming Conference on Poetics, here’s an entire museum of poetics. Imagined and created by poet Jim Cohn and online since 1997, The Museum of American Poetics (MAP) documents “major trends in Postbeat poetry through its collection of online exhibits, annual Napalm Health Spa journal, poetics transmissions, video presentations, links and blog.”

As a good museum should, MAP opens the door and invites you to get lost. With a minimum of visual drama, it presents fresh combinations of older and more recent work, puts familiar poets into new categories and leads you to outside sites where you can continue to wander. And of course it has a store (and a Facebook page). Have a look.